Stephen Colbert reveals the name bullies called him in school

Sara McGinnis is a slightly mossy Northwest gal living in an otherwise all-male household. She contributes to both the BabyCenter Blog and SheKnows Entertainment, and is a fan of Twitter and Facebook friends.
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Stephen Colbert: It gets better

Before Stephen Colbert became the television political satirist we know and love, he was just another kid getting picked on at school. Now he wants everyone to know -- it gets better.

Stephen Colbert is the latest celebrity to lend their story to the It Gets Better campaign. In a new video, the 47-year-old tells of his struggles being bullied in seventh grade.

Check out the video of Stephen Colbert's It Gets Better message below!

In a message directed to "any gay and lesbian teens out there, also bisexual and transgendered... really, anyone who's being picked on," the man behind The Colbert Report shares his story.

Stephen Colbert says, "When I was in seventh grade I remember being picked on all the time. I got called queer a lot... I think this was the most hurtful thing that the bullies could think of calling you."

Rather than argue with the bullies, a classmate of Stephen's named Pat agreed that he was queer as they taunted, and dared them to kiss him, turning the tables on the tormentors.

"I couldn't believe the magic that Pat had just worked!" recalls Stephen Colbert. "He had somehow figured out that if you don't give power to the words that people throw at you, to hurt you, they don't hurt you anymore. And you actually have power over those people."

"If you can, realize the things that people say about you don't really matter. It's who you are, and the older you get the more you'll understand that," Stephen Colbert concludes. "It gets better, and people get nicer too."